A Night Out

I thought we had avoided the evening's mishap on the way out the door. Will was waving at us madly from the carseat, my husband was pulling out the keys to lock the front door and suddenly he said, "Do you have any shoes for tonight?"

I didn't, so I ran to the closet and pulled out my black heels (with the strap and the peeptoe, if you must know) and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Imagine if we had left without my shoes!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's forty-five minutes later. We are in the car sipping our Starbucks, a relaxing night spread out before us.

"You did pack my dress, right?"

"Um, no."

"With your dress clothes? When you put them in the garment bag, you put my dress in too, right?"

"I'm not wearing a suit. I just folded my clothes and put them in the suitcase."

Next stop: Suburban mall.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I should probably not admit that this is the third time I've left my home city without the dress clothes necessary for whatever event I was leaving to attend. Once it was a wedding. Then a dinner and graduation, in Winnipeg of all places. Now dinner and a show. Three times I've had to make a mad dash around the mall desperate to find something - anything - appropriate to replace my forgotten clothes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The new outfit was a great success. I found a great pair of black pants with a bit of a shimmer, and a beautiful black sleeveless top with some baubles around the neckline. Paired with my black heels and a black wrap, I looked like quite the sophisticated lady.

We did have to rush in the hotel before dinner, and then our cab's wiper actually broke and the driver stopped to fix it en route. But nothing could stop us from having a wonderful evening. The dinner was excellent and the show was fabulous. We even went to a jazz bar for drinks afterward without a care in the world.

A perfect birthday present should always come with overnight childcare.